My first month

Time certainly does fly when you’re having fun, and I can’t believe it has already been a month since I started as CEO at TimeBank!

With the charity moving into its 20th year in 2020, there are certainly big shoes to fill but after just a month I’m feeling really settled thanks to the professionalism and dedication of the committed staff here at our offices in London, Birmingham and Scotland.

I’ve been impressed by the great work they are doing to support ex-service men and women in Scotland and to help refugees and asylum seekers in Birmingham and London through the challenges of a new life in a new country. It’s been great to see the enthusiasm that our corporate volunteers bring to the community projects we organise for them – and how much they achieve (and benefit) in just one day.

All in all it’s an exciting time to be associated with the charity. Over the next couple of months - thanks to securing further funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for our new Talking Together project in London, the West Midlands and Leicester - the team will be growing, and we will be recruiting and training even more volunteers to deliver community English classes that empower those taking part to improve their English and play a greater role in their communities.

So, what does the future hold for TimeBank? Well I’m optimistic that the future is very bright. With fresh eyes I can look ahead to the objectives that as a charity with our dedicated board of trustees and staff we want to achieve, and together develop new volunteer projects to support even more beneficiaries across a range of social issues.

However, we cannot do this without the continued support of the various trusts, foundations, corporates and supporters that have such an impact on both the the young and old across the UK, and we are hugely appreciative of that support.

New partnerships and relationships will need to be built so that we can reach even more people, and technology will start to play an even greater role in the future of mentoring. We are planning some exciting pilots in partnership with the voluntary and corporate sectors and increasing our employee volunteering offer.

None of this is achievable without our dedicated pool of volunteers. Through their hard work and dedication they really do transform the lives of the beneficiaries they work with, and I’ve been hugely impressed by their commitment.

So, one month down, there’s plenty to do, but I’m excited by the challenge ahead!